August 2008 Newsletter

PQRI Payments

By: TechComm Services Manager

CMS announced that it will begin sending payments to participants in the 2007 PQRI in August 2008. Along with the announcement, CMS provided some interesting statistics on participation and payments for the 2007 PQRI.

• Just over half of the professionals and practices who participated in data collection efforts will receive payments (109,349 tried and 56,722 were successful).
• Average number of measures reported: 3.63
• Average payment for individual: $630
• Average payment for group: $4,713
• Largest payment to a group: $205,795
• Total measures reported: 6,722,753
• Total payment amount: $36 million
• Providers in all 50 states plus D.C., Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and Guam participated in the program.
• Florida (over $3 million) and Illinois (over $2 million) received the highest incentive payments.

Participants in the 2007 PQRI can access confidential reports that show a summary of the data they submitted and how they compare with other participants. Feedback reports are available online to providers registered with the Individuals Authorized Access to CMS Computer Services – Provider Community (IACS-PC). See the Quadax news bulletin from August 8, 2008 for details on how to register with IACS.

More measures and reporting options are included in the 2008 program so CMS expects greater participation this year.